Leopard epaulette shark

The leopard epaulette shark, Hemiscyllium michaeli, also called the Milne Bay epaulette shark or Michael's epaulette shark, is a tropical bamboo shark known from shallow water in the Milne Bay region of eastern Papua New Guinea. It was long confused with the Indonesian speckled carpetshark and was described as a separate species only in 2010 by Gerald Allen and Christine Dudgeon; it is named for the photographer and aquarist Scott Michael, who recognised the difference. It reaches at least 82 centimetres, with most individuals 60 to 78 centimetres long, and has an elongated body whose slender tail makes up over half its length. Its pale grey-brown skin carries a dense network of leopard-like spots and a large dark ocellus behind the head, while juveniles are mostly white with dark bars. It lives in water down to about 20 metres on fringing and patch coral reefs, rocky outcrops, tidal pools and seagrass beds. It is largely nocturnal and often walks along the bottom on its paddle-like fins, even crawling out of water into tidal pools. It is harmless to people, though habitat degradation and artisanal fishing for food affect it within its restricted range.